The small fleet owners use different tools and techniques to enhance ease of operation and their business efficiency. One of the most popular and efficient devices is an ELD or Electronic Logging Device. The drivers of commercial vehicles use it to record their driving time and Hours of Service or HoS. The ELD provides many other details, such as the vehicle’s engine data, miles driven, etc.
The ELD is extremely helpful in keeping fleet owners aware of their drivers and dispatchers in real-time. It helps them ensure fleet compliance, inspection, training, and building future strategy.
Here we will learn about:
- What is ELD?
- How does it work?
- How does it help small fleet owners?
And a lot more.
It is essential to understand what ELD is before knowing its immense benefits.
What is ELD?
An Electronic Logging Device is hardware that can connect to the vehicle’s engine. It records driving hours (HOS) and many other details. It also has a screen for the driver to view their driving status and print hour logs.
How does it work?
ELDs can communicate with a truck’s engine control unit or ECU. The device gets to know the engine status and real-time GPS location. When connected to the engine, it starts recording accurate Hours of Service, driving activity, ignition status, location, miles traveled, etc. Then the device sends engine and location data to the server, and the logs get created.
Users can access this information through the ELD app or fleet management software. There are many more benefits of having an ELD that goes beyond the ones listed above.
How does an ELD help small fleet owners?
There are numerous benefits of ELD for smaller fleets. Fleet managers often use ELD to run their business more efficiently, reduce operational costs, maximize growth, enhance productivity, and increase revenue.
There are several reasons why so many fleets are using LEDs.
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Eliminates manual burden
If you are using an Electronic Logging Device for your fleet business, the requirement of maintaining a manual track record gets eliminated. The machine automatically tracks and records data and lowers the administrative burden.
The manual recording of Hours of Service, keeping the records safe, and storing them for years is challenging and inaccurate. One of the best ELD benefits is that it records precise data and saves a lot of time, effort, and money for the fleet management company.
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Route optimization
ELD allows real-time location tracking. The managers can actively monitor the fleet vehicles through GPS tracking. Real-time visibility enables the managers to minimize distractions and help the drivers know the perfect and shortest route.
Route optimization is key to saving time and fuel. This way, the management can streamline operations and make the business more productive and profitable.
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Less Fuel Wastage
Since ELDs allow fleet managers to view the dashboard and monitor idle-time tracking, the managers know exactly how much time the driver is idling. Using this, you can check whether the idling time is excessive and save thousands of dollars on fuel.
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Identifying the Driving Behaviour
One of the most significant features of ELD is that it offers driver behavior analysis. It enables fleets to improve safety and CSA scores by identifying poor driving behavior. Lousy driving behavior includes speeding, reckless driving, harsh braking, hard cornering, and more.
By studying the data obtained from ELD, you get to know which driver has poor driving skills, and then you can schedule training for them. In the absence of an Electronic Logging Device, it is impossible to know the driver’s behavior on the road.
By controlling lousy driving, you can reduce the number of accidents and injuries. It ensures not only driver’s safety but also vehicle safety. Fleets can make a list of their worst and best-performing drivers. Based on their performance, drivers can either be trained in safer driving or given the incentive to boost motivation and retention.
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Safety
One of the most popular and known ELD benefits is safety. Fleets with ELDs are safer than those without ELDs. As per FMCSA, ELDs can save a significant number of lives and prevent generous amounts of injuries per year.
Also, due to the features like GPS tracking, route optimization, and driver behavior identification, ELDs prevent accidents.
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Save on Insurance Premiums
The fleets that have ELD pay lower insurance premiums. Insurance companies offer better rates to fleets with ELDs than those who do not.
ELDs also have GPS tracking features. Therefore, there is a negligible risk of theft and vehicle hijacking. Hence, this is also one of the reasons the insurance companies offer lower insurance rates to the fleet equipped with ELD.
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IFTA Calculation
ELD can offer you automated IFTA Calculation. It will simplify your IFTA calculation process.
The fleets need to file IFTA reports after every quarter. Calculating IFTA is a cumbersome process. Since it involves a lot of data and paperwork, the risk of human error is high. Also, the fleets need a lot of resources for filing the right IFTA. But ELD can completely automate the IFTA calculation process and save you from all the hassle and spending a lot of money.
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Better CSA Scores
The electronic logging devices also ensure that the drivers are not exhausted by driving for more hours than needed. With e-logs and HOS, the managers can ensure that the driver gets optimum rest and avoid violations formed by federal authorities. It also helps reduce the total number of accidents and is a significant factor in improving the CSA scores.
Now that you know, ELD considerably helps reduce administrative burden and augments operational ease. It will positively impact your business. It is widely known that ELD increases fleet safety. Equip your fleet with ELDs not just for FMCSA’s ELD mandate compliance but also to streamline your business operations and increase profitability.
The smaller fleet businesses that have already been using the device are maximizing their revenue, exploring new business opportunities, boosting efficiency, and growing at a much faster pace.
